Maui is home to many professional windsurfers and is headquarters or R&D central for many windsurfing companies. And the twin epicenters of the windsurfing world on Maui are Paia and Haiku. So, if you really want to max out the windsurfing experience of your Maui vacation, think about staying on the north shore near Paia or Haiku.

Paia especially is a funky little town where you’re bound to run into professional windsurfers from around the world at one of the local Paia restaurants. For accommodations in Paia, check out the Paia Inn Hotel, right in the heart of Paia.

If you’re not on a tight budget, consider staying in a beach house in Sprecklesville, only a mile or two downwind from Paia. Check out Sugar Ranch Maui or Bob’s Rentals.

Beware staying too close to the airport on the north shore. Staying at a beach bungalow with your gear rigged is a great idea, but keep in mind you may be under the flight path.

Looking for resort accomodations? Try the resorts in Wailea. The west side has resorts also, but it’s a bit longer drive with worse traffic. How about a condo? Try Kihei.

Rather than try to list all the accomodations available, it’s probably just best to point you to a website that already has tons of info on Maui windsurfing accomodations. Click over to Maui Vacation Advisors, formerly Maui Windsurfari and you can get a great idea of where to stay, maps of the various properties, and photos too. Also check out Island Style Vacations, a vacation rental service that windsurfing super-star Kevin Pritchard is associated with.

There are cheaper accomodations that may not be listed on Maui Vacation Advisors. In addition to the new Marriott Courtyard Airport there are two other motels in Kahaului – directly on the harbor, the Maui Beach Hotel and the Maui Seaside. These are right next to each other and are right on a busy street, so I think they’ll tend to be a bit noisy.

Looking for a really cheap place to stay in Maui? Consider this. There are cheap hostels to stay in, but is the money you save really worth the bed bugs, cockroaches, centipedes and cane spiders? Maui is an incredibly beautiful place with world-class windsurfing but if your main focus is to constantly save a buck, you’re going to miss the experience. If you’re really on a budget, line up a place to stay for a few nights, then, once you’re here, ask around at some of the local windsurfing shops to find anyone who might have a room or studio for rent. There are a lot of places to stay that aren’t advertised that try to stay under the radar. Ask around once you’re here and you’ll likely find a good deal that’s better than some of the hostels.